The Vercetti Legacy
Prologue, part 1 "Tommy! Tommy! You've gotta get down here. There's a lady here who says she's gotta see you!" Tommy Vercetti held the phone away from his ear and scowled. Ken Rosenberg had never realized that a telephone was designed to be used at normal talking volume. "Settle down, Ken. What's her name?" "Sara Peterson." "I don't know any Sara Peterson." "She said you'll recognize her face." Tommy rubbed his head. He needed coffee. "Tell her I'll be down when I get around to it. If it's that important, she can wait." That afternoon, when Tommy could no longer think of any more errands that needed taking care of, he pulled up outside the lawyer's office. "I sure hope this was important enough to wake me up at 8 a.m.," he grumbled under his breath. "Tommy! This is Sara," Ken said, gesturing to a lady who had been sitting around the corner from the door. "Remember me?" Sara said. Tommy opened his mouth to say no, then closed it as he remembered waking up, hungover, with her in his bed. "Yeah, I remember you. They call it a one-night stand for a reason." "I'm pregnant," Sara said. "Tommy, I bet she's lying," Rosenberg said. "We can get you a paternity test." "No," Tommy said. "Listen, lady, I'll give you $500,000 if you promise not to pester me anymore. And whatever you do, keep your mouth shut, you got it? The last thing I need is a million women claiming they're having my baby." "Fine," the woman said, her mouth curving in a small smile. Prologue, part 2 ---- The months passed, and Tommy almost forgot about the incident. Business was booming, and most nights he collapsed into bed exhausted. Today had been even more exhausting than usual, so when he heard the wailing, he thought he was hallucinating. "More sleep, less coffee," he grumbled to himself, shaking his head. The cries became louder as he walked up the stairs to his door. When he got to the door, he stopped. Lying there was a baby in a blanket. A note was pinned to the blanket. She's your problem now. Tommy picked the bundle up awkwardly. His eyes drifted to the swimming pool, but as soon as the idea formed, he dismissed it. He couldn't kill an innocent child. He put the girl back down on the step and picked up his cell phone. "Candy? It's Tommy. Bring Mercedes and meet me at my place. I have a situation here." Tommy Vercetti had never been incompetent in his life. Even in prison, he had commanded the fear and respect of his fellow inmates. He had worked his way up from nothing to owning half of Vice City. But somehow, looking down at the crying six-pound infant lying in his lap, all of that meant nothing. No matter what Tommy did--of course, he was afraid to do much for fear of hurting her--she continued to wail. The doorbell rang. "It's open!" Tommy called. Mercedes and Candy raced up the stairs to Tommy's office. "Tommy, I came as fast as I could! What's wr---aww, how cute!" Candy's attention was turned towards the little one. Tommy said, gesturing at the little one, "She's been crying since she was dropped on my doorstep and I have no idea how to make it stop." "She's probably hungry," Mercedes said. "Wait, you said dropped on your doorstep?" "Yeah." Tommy explained the whole incident in Roseberg's office. "Well, first things first," Mercedes said calmly. "We need to get some food in her. Where's the nearest convenience store?" "Over in Little Havana," Candy said. "We'll go get some food," Mercedes said. "Can't one of you take her with you?" Tommy pleaded, holding out his little girl. "There's no car seat in my car," Candy explained patiently. She took the girl in her arms, then handed her back to Tommy, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "She also needs a diaper change. We'll be back." The girls returned, not a moment too soon for Tommy. It took a few more minutes for the formula to be made up, but once it was, the girls helped Tommy feed and diaper his daughter. "Well, we should be getting home. Long day of filming tomorrow," Candy said. "Wait! You can't leave me here!" Tommy cried. "Tommy, we have to get up for work in the morning," Mercedes said. "We can't be looking after a baby all night." "I can't do it," Tommy said. "We'll come back and check on you two after work tomorrow," Candy said. Tommy sighed and cradled his daughter. "You need a name, don't you," he said to the bundle. "Sapphire okay with you?" The girl gurgled her approval.